Stirrer assembly



July 29, 1958 R. F. DONNELLY ,8

' STIRRER ASSEMBLY Filed June 25, 1956 3 1 INVENTOR. v

. 25 \2|/ 26 RAYMOND EDONNELLY ATTORNEYS United States Patent STIRRER ASSEMBLY Raymond F. Donnelly, Merrick, N. Y.

Application June 25, 1956, Serial No. 593,475

6 Claims. (Cl. 215-12) This invention relates, as indicated, to a novel assembly of stirrers and has for a primary object the provision of such a device in which the assembly itself has utility apart from serving merely as a source of supply of the stirrers.

More particularly, the stirring implements to be described herein are in the form or on the order of swizzle sticks used, as is well-known, in the preparation of drinks, such as highballs, in which an alcoholic beverage is mixed with a suitable dilutant. It is also a now familiar practice for suppliers of alcoholic beverages which are,

.or maybe, consumed in this fashion to furnish such sticks free of cost to potential purchasers, either directly'or indirectly, sticks of a fairly permanent nature invariably being appropriated by patrons in establishments serving such drinks. 7 The sticks, sometimes also referred to as muddlers, thus supplied are widely used as an advertising medium by applying thereto the name of the supplier, and where the beverage is marketed under a trade device or symbol, the sticks may be formed in part in the design or pattern of the device, as well as carrying an identifying name.

Distillers have, more recently, given attention to the meet distinctive and attractive packaging as a means for promoting sales of their products, particularly during the periods of unusually high sales preceding major holidays. The use of decorative individual cartonshas already become quite popular, andmany'distillers now supply their beverages in decanter bottles, as well as in standard bottles, in the holiday sales periods. Moreover, the indications are that the use of special packaging in the trade will increase substantially and become a standard practice, that is, as part of the continuing sales efiort, rather than limited to only certain times of the year.

In one important aspect, my novel stirrer assembly is in keeping with this trend, a further object of the invention being to provide such'an assembly for use in the display and sale of beverages in bottles and the like. Where the beverage is alcoholic, the stirrers will be in the form of swizzlesticks or muddlers, thereby adding to the appeal of the product to a potential purchaser as a premium feature.

Another object of the invention is to provide such an assembly of stirrers for association with a beverage bottle or ,other container and having a distinctive, decorative appearance, whereby display of the bottle is enhanced. By applying the trade name, symbol, or other identifying indicia of the product to the stirrer elements, the supplier, of course, obtains the benefit of such advertising. Furthermore, the stirrers are made of a reasonably lasting material, so that they will in all likelihood remain useful longafter the content of the bottle with which they were supplied is consumed, and the possession of the stirrers with the identifying indicia thereon increases the probabilitiesthat the consumer will re-order the same brand.

It is an additional object to provide a stirrer assembly tobe suppliedin association with a container for liquids and the like which is so formed as to atford protection for the container. Since beverage containers particularly are usually made of glass, they are quite prone to being cracked, chipped and broken in transportation and handling; my assembly greatly reduces the possibility of such damage.

It is a further object of the invention to provide stirrer assembly having the aforesaid characteristics and advantages which is simple and inexpensive to produce, whereby the same may be supplied with the bottled beverages and the like without necessarily increasing the cost of the same.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail certain illustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the invention may be employed. I

In said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage bottle having associated therewith a stirrer assembly in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a like view in which the stirrer assembly is in a slightly different form; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating a further feature which can be incorporated in the assembly.

' Referring now to the drawing in detail, the bottle 10 is a standard alcoholic beverage bottle and, accordingly, the stirrers provided by the invention are, as will appear, of the swizzle stick or muddler type. The stirrer assembly designated generally by reference numeral 11 in Fig. 1 comprises a flat circular base portion 12 and an integral annular flange portion 13 at the periphery of the flat portion and normal to the plane thereof. This much of the assembly forms a dished or cup-like base the dimensioning of which is so related to the size of the bottle 10 as to fit closely on the bottom of the latter, with the flange portion 13 embracing a short extent of the lower side Wall of the bottle.

A plurality of elongated elements 14 are integrally joined to the flange portion 13 of the baseat spaced points about the same and extend therefrom in parallel relation. In this particular construction, the elements 14 are formed in the suggestion of ice pinnacles, with each having a pointed free outer end 15 and a laterally enlarged section 16 near the region of connection of the same to the flange portion. As shown, the several such elements overlie the side wall of the bottle 10 in the lower cylindrical portion thereof and, preferably, the outer ends of the elements do not project above the usual shoulder 17 of the bottle. If the elements did so project, there would, of course, be the possibility of snagging such ends in handling of the bottle.

It is preferred that the assembly be made of a hard synthetic plastic, for example, polystyrene, in view of the low cost and good durability of such material. Regardless, however, of the particular material employed or the manner in which the assembly is formed, the flange portion 13 is deliberately weakened along break-away lines 18 which define ends of the elements 14 in such portion. This may be done in any number of ways by reducing the thickness of the materialalong these lines by scoring, by perforations, or by any other appropriate practice either in the formation of the assembly or subsequent thereto.

The elements 14 thus may be readily detached from Patented July 29, 8

the assembly, simply by pulling the same to the side or outwardly to break the material along the lines 18. When thus detached, each element 14 is clearly an effective swizzle stick, the enlarged section 16 of thesame forming the usual paddle. It will beclear that the stirrer elements may be individually detached without impairing the interconnectionof the others of this particular assembly.

The edge of the flange portion 13 of the base is furthermore formed with reentrant angles 19 in 'the areas between the stirrer elements 14, and .the breakaway lines 18 are similarly arranged to define corresponding recesses upon detachment of the stirrers. When all the .stirrers are separated, there remains a cup-shaped member, having a fairly uniform decorative upper edge, which may be used as a coaster or as a holder for nuts and the like commonly served with thedrinks. prepared from the bottled beverage.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2, the assembly is somewhat simpler in that no discrete base portion is provided. This construction is comprised of a band portion indicated generally at 20 fitted closely about the bottle 10 near the bottom of the same, with elongated elements 21 integrally joined and projecting essentially the same as earlier described. Here the band portions intermediate the elongated elements, which will form the stirrers, are in the configuration of small fence pickets 22 and the breakaway lines 23 render the sections intermediate such pickets the paddle sections 24 of the stirrers. In this latter construction, detachment of one of the swizzle sticks interrupts the complete encirclement of the bottle.

If desired, the upper ends of the elements may be anchored by means of a further, smaller band interconnecting the same, as shown in Fig. 3. The intersections of thisupper band with the several stirrer elements are weakened as shown by the lines 26, so that the elements 21 may likewise be readily freed at this end. The same type of added restraint can, of course, be provided in the Fig. l assembly or any other of similar character.

In the two forms illustrated, the stirrers are shaped differently to illustrate the flexibility of the assembly in a design and decorative sense. In both cases, the paddle sections of the stirrers can obviously carry a trade name or device, thereby to advertisethe suppliers product, and the stirrers can as well be formed to the shape of an identifying symbol .used by the particular supplier. Moreover, in this manner, the products of several suppliers all using the same basic type of assembly may be made readily distinguishable.

The assemblies are preferably formed to grip the bottles with which they are used, so :that they will remain in place in normal handling. This may be realized by molding the assembly to a slightly smaller diameter at the outer or free ends of the stirrer elements, the resultant taper producing suflicient resilient deformation to insure that the device takes a firmhold on the bottle. Where the assembly is manufactured without the base portion, it could be molded in flat form and then circularized so as substantially completely to embrace the bottle, resilient deformation again providing the desired gripping. While plastic is the preferred material, the assembly can also be made of wood or any of the many composition boards now commercially available.

It will be seen that the bottle is provided in both illustrated forms of the invention with a protective encasement which very definitely lessens the possibility of damage, such as cracking or breaking in the packing and transportation of the bottles. Additionally, the assembly when intact is decorative and thus enhances the attractiveness or eye appeal without requiring modification of the standard bottle and special bottle making machines, as in the case of decanter bottles.

It will also be appreciated that the stirrer elements themselves may be of modified functional design, as distinguished from decorativeness, with or without retaining the essential form and function of a swizzle stick. For example, some or all of the free ends of the projecting elements of the assembly may be forked, for spearing in the manner of an ordinary .cocktail fork. Additional forms of spears, not necessarily connected with alcoholic drinks, can also be provided "inthe same fashion.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features-stated in any of the following claims or the equivalent of such be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A stirrer assembly comprising a base having a flat circular portion and an annular flange portion projecting substantially at right angles from such flat portion, said base being-adapted to fit on the bottom of a container for beverages .and the like with the flange portion embracing the container side wall, a plurality of elongated members formed integrally with such flange portion of the base and extending therefrom in circumferentially spaced-apart relation, and breakaway lines defining individual ends of said elongated members in the flange portion, said members being adapted to overlie, the side wall of such 13011- tainer and to be usable as stirrers upon detachmentfrom the assembly.

2. A stirrer assembly comprising a base having a flat circular portion and an annular flange portion projecting substantially at right angles from such flat portion,xsaid .base being adapted to fit on the bottom .of a contain'effor beverages and. the like with the flange portion embracing the containerside wall,.and a plurality of elongated membershaving. the approximate size and shape of swizzle sticks joinedto the flange portion of the base and extending therefrom to overlie the side wall of such container, said members being spaced apart circumferentially about the base and readily detachable therefrom for individual use.

3. In combination with a frangible container for beverages and the like, said container having a substantially cylindrical lower portionand a reduced upper. portion; a stirrer assembly comprising an encircling band fitted snugly on said container at such lower portion thereof, and a plurality of elongated stirring elements detachably joined to said band in circumferentiallyspaced-apart relation and substantial parallelism, said elements overlying such-lower portion of the container and being of such extent as not to project beyond the ends of the same, the elements further being easily detachable. from saidband for individual use as stirrers.

4. In combination with a'frangible container for beverages and the like, said container having a substantially cylindrical lower portion and a reduced upper portion: a stirrer assembly comprising an encircling band fitted snugly on said container at such lower portion thereof, a plurality of elongated stirring elementsintegral with said band in substantially parallel spaced-apart relation, and break-away lines defining ends of said elements in the band, said elements overlying such lower portion of the container and being of such extent as not to project beyond the ends of the same.

5. A stirrer assembly comprising an approximately circular band portion adapted to fit closely about a beverage container and the like, a plurality of spaced-apart elongated elements formed integrally with said band portion and lying generally parallel to the axis thereof, and break-away lines in the band portion defining individual ends of said elements for ready separation of the latter, the elongated elements when detached forming stirring implements.

6. A stirrer assembly made of a hard synthetic plastic 5 6 having a bottle-encircling band portion and integral elon- References Cited in the file of this patent gated elements extending in parallel relation from spaced UNITED STATES PATENTS points about said band portion, the material forming the latter being weakened in the regions of such points for 2,745,586 Thoma May 1956 detachment of said elongated elements therefrom, and the 5 FOREIGN PATENTS elements being of such size and shape as to be usable as stirrers when thus detached. I 361,082 Italy July 12, 1938 

